Have you tried Ubuntu yet?

DivX playback, Totem player, Windowed.

One of my new years resolutions for 2007 was to use an open source operating system. I don’t mean try it out and forget about it - rather, I want to learn how to use it for day to day work (which I would normally do on an XP powered PC).

And each day I use this new OS, I’m amazed by how easy it is to use. The purpose of this little article is to give Windows XP users a rough idea on how easy it is to use Ubuntu, and see how Ubuntu compares with Windows XP

Pre installation FAQ

1. What is Ubuntu? Ubuntu is an open source operating system. What that generally means is, Ubuntu can be downloaded for free, and you can use it on your system without paying for a licence.
2. Yes, but isn’t that OS for Linux experts? Don’t you need to know Linux? Not necessarily. Ubuntu works mostly via a graphical user interface (similar to Windows XP, you use a mouse, click buttons, etc). Most operations are completed with a mouse. Very rarely you may have to perform some advanced operations using a terminal/console (like MS Dos window).
3. How easy is it to install? Basically, you boot off the CD and follow the prompts. Installation is via a GUI.
4. How do I get the CD? You can download an ISO image of the CD from http://www.ubuntu.com/ - burn this image onto a CD and boot off that CD.
5. Will it recognise my hardware? Ubuntu recognised all hardware on my test PC without any problems. Contrast this with XP which required me to download additional drivers for VGA and Sound! Does this guarantee all your hardware will be recognised? No, but most of the time, it just works.
6. Does it require a lot of space? Actually I was told (during the installation process) that you will need around 2.5GB of space, which is not bad considering that Ubuntu comes with many applications (e.g. Open Office), unlike Windows XP.
7. But I only know how to use XP? How can I retrain myself to use Ubuntu?? The most surprising thing is, you don’t have to retrain yourself - most of the functionality of the desktop/etc is very similar to Windows XP. I don’t mean to say Ubuntu mimics Windows (they don’t), rather, if you are familiar with XP you should be able to find your way around Ubuntu easily. Actually, it’s more accurate to say both XP and Ubuntu are intuitive and follow common concepts and logical processes in their graphical user interfaces (translation: if you can use XP, you will probably be fine with Ubuntu).

The Ubuntu Experience

To give you an idea of what it’s like to use Ubuntu

I was amazed at how many applications are included with Ubuntu - right out of the box, this OS seems to include everything I could think of - office software, DVD/CD Writing software, Email and Internet browser, graphics, etc, all included, fully functional, and ready to use.

The Desktop

I’ve tweaked the menu to start from below (like XP) because I’m used to that Old habits..

As you can see, it’s a lot like XP - you have your “Computer”, and a taskbar which shows Tabs for windows, a clock, and a menu to launch programs, accessories, etc. Yup, just like XP - so nothing to relearn here as such!

Included Software:

Unlike Windows, Ubuntu includes a range of popular Linux applications for various tasks such as Graphics, Wordprocessing, etc. Most of these software packages are equivalent to (or better than) similar commercial Windows applications

Graphics Software:

GIMP is a professional graphics software, similar to Photoshop.

Office software:

Ubuntu includes Open Office which is similar to Microsoft Office - it includes applications for Spreadsheet, Word processing, database, and presentation.

Games:

Ubuntu includes a large collection of preinstalled games

Security:

One big plus point of Ubuntu is, as with most Linux distros, it is very secure. Virus and spyware generally are not much of a threat (compared to Windows environment) as most attacks are directed against Windows.

Also, users aren’t automatically set up as administrators - and most admin operations require a password, so it’s harder for a malicious application to attack the system.

Also, as Ubuntu is open source, the code is regularly checked by thousands of people worldwide, and bugs are quickly fixed.

Summary

Ubuntu is professional operating system, it’s simple to use, includes freeware versions of most Windows software, and, did I forget to mention, happnens to be FREE?

Over the next few days I will write more articles on my Ubuntu experience.

PS: Hi to everyone at http://www.groklaw.net/